On Wednesday morning, 26 June 2024, Civil Administration personnel came with a military and Border Police escort and three diggers to the community of Khirbet Umm al-Kheir in the South Hebron Hills. The forces demolished the homes of two families: a stone structure belonging to a family of seven, including five minors, and a residential complex consisting of two stone structures and five shacks belonging to a family of 17, including 11 minors. In 2009, the Civil Administration issued 11 stop-work orders for structures in the community, including the homes of these families.
The forces also demolished a guest hall (diwan) and a solar power room that supplied electricity to all the homes in the community.
One of the homes demolished belonged to ‘Eid Hadalin, an artist who has exhibited work alongside well-known Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.This demolition is meant to appease the settlers,” said Hadalin. “Demolishing our homes, and so demolishing our lives.”
The latest demolition is part of the Israeli apartheid regime's efforts to drive Palestinian communities out of the South Hebron Hills and other areas of the West Bank, and transfer their lands to Jewish hands